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New Jerusalem
New Jerusalem was known before the war as the Tri-Cities and is now effectively the capital of the Kingdom of God. Judge David conquered the area from its scavenger inhabitants and has rebuilt the city in him and his wife Maria’s personal image of God’s heavenly capital. The settlement is the Kingdom’s largest, and it also operates as the Judge’s secure and superlative fortress. History Ruined Tri-Cities Pasco was the first of the Tri-Cities to be incorporated, in 1891. Kennewick was incorporated in 1904, and Richland followed in 1910. Before the Great War, the Tri-Cities were three closely tied cities – Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland located at the confluence of the Yakima, Snake, and Columbia Rivers in the Columbia Basin of eastern Washington. Pasco was the largest city in the Tri-Cities before the war, mostly due to its railroad station. It also had the most land for easy irrigation and farming and was still the largest up until the founding of Hanford near Richland. Farming was the basis of virtually every sector of the economy in the early years. Indeed, the area remained mostly rural well into the 1940's. It did not have a daily newspaper or radio station until the mid-1940's. Agriculture was always a big part of the Tri-Cities, Pasco in particular. The second world war led to the establishment of the Hanford Site in the Tri-Cities to support the nascent Manhattan Project. After the founding of the Hanford Site in 1943, Richland became the largest city of the three overnight. Plutonium manufactured at the site was used in the first nuclear bomb, tested at the Trinity site, and in Fat Man, the bomb detonated over Nagasaki, Japan. After the war ended, economy continued to grow, but not without some turbulence. Every time the federal government cut funding at Hanford, thousands of talented, credentialed people would suddenly become jobless and leave for other jobs. During this time, other employers slowly made their way into the area, but they too would often be forced to cut jobs in the bad times. During the Cold War, the project expanded to include thirteen nuclear reactors and six large plutonium processing complexes, which produced plutonium for most of the weapons built for the ever-increasing U.S. nuclear arsenal. Nuclear technology developed rapidly, and Hanford scientists produced major technological achievements every year it seemed. That was at first, at least. As time went on, the Hanford Site continued to churn out plutonium while the Tri-Cities grew around it. Many safety procedures and waste disposal practices for radioactive material were inadequate, and Hanford's operations released significant amounts of radioactive materials into the air and the Columbia River. Completion of the Interstate 182 Bridge in 1984 made Pasco much more accessible, fueling the further growth of that city. Manufacturing became more relevant in the Tri-Cities during the 21st century while the Hanford Site fell more into the background so to speak. The high-level radioactive waste produced by the Hanford Site did not fade into the background however and only became more noticeable as time went on. In 2043, a record number of mothers in Pasco experienced miscarriages, birthing what the press termed "Chicken-Faced Monstrosities". A great scandal then almost occurred when the negligence of the Hanford Site was quite easily discovered by a private investigator. Scandal was averted however when the government convinced all the affected mothers to settle out of court for untold sums. After narrowly avoiding catastrophe, the Hanford Site was radically restructured under the guidance of the federal government to reduce its radioactive waste output. Across the country, most people were still unconcerned about radioactive waste, but at Handford Site, there was still a possibility of a huge scandal that could actually turn people against nuclear power. So, the government made a great effort to effectively seal and dispose of the radioactive waste produced by the Hanford Site's weapons built for the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Although these efforts were successful to some degree, the fact that the Hanford Site continued to produce plutonium retarded the process somewhat. The Sino-American War only complicated the process. The Great War came to the Tri-Cities much as it did elsewhere, with little warning. The Handford Site was targeted by Chinese bombers as well as the Tri-Cities themselves. The bombs proved devastating to the area, and the Tri-Cities burned for days after the bombs dropped. Meanwhile, the Hanford Site was directly targeted by Chinese bombs but avoided a complete nuclear holocaust due to the heroic actions of several on-Site staff. As the sirens blared outside, the personnel at Hanford Site worked tirelessly to minimize the damage the facility would cause if it was hit. Against the orders of superiors, the Hanford personnel intentionally scuttled the site’s nuclear reactors and plutonium processing complexes to minimize damage to any survivors. They did not completely succeed as the site did become contaminated, but they avoided creating an even larger area of radioactive contamination. No would ever thank them unfortunately: as all on-site staff at the Hanford Site died during the Great War. The rest of 2077 was a quiet year for the Tri-cities. The lack of vaults near any of cities’ downtown meant most within the Tri-Cities were either killed in the initial bombings, died from radiation poisoning, or ghoulified. Some residents of Kennewick did apparently manage to escape to a Vault outside the city limits before the bombs fell, but nothing has been hear of them since the Great War. The Tri-Cities themselves became something of tomb, filled to the brim with corpses and small shuffling groups of traumatized ghouls, unable to fully process what had happened. These ghouls, feral and non-feral, began to slowly migrate towards the Hanford Site in the years following the bombs. Rule of the Judge The arrival of Judge David to the ruined Tri-Cities would bring great upheaval to the area. Moral and Mercantile Decline Success would come with its own price for New Jerusalem. Government New Jerusalem is technically ruled by Judge David but in practice is overseen by his Apostles who do the day to day administration. Economy The economy of New Jerusalem is closely linked to the overall economy of the Kingdom of God. Culture New Jerusalem's culture is one of fundamentalism where Christian traditionalism is the law of the land. Points of Interest Columbia Center Mall The mall was the largest in southeastern Washington before the war and was a major hub for survivors shortly after the bombs fell. The mall continued to be a trading hub for scavengers right up until the arrival of the Judge. Judge David secured the Columbia Central Mall as an outpost of the Army of God but mostly just let the traders continue their amoral ways. That was until Maria pointed the traders’ ways and nagged David into driving them out in 2259. The traders have slowly drifted back into the mall afterwards, and now things are back to normal for the most part. However, the mall traders at least try to stick to the standards set by the Kingdom of God. That includes not selling weapons, slaves, chems, or vice. The mall on the surface-level adheres to these rules, and the Kingdom of God tolerated the traders to a degree. That hides a massive black market that still exists underneath. The massive mall acts as an expansive market for the people of Mew Jerusalem who go there to buy necessities and more exotic products. Various traders occupy former department stores, and the automated food court acts as a sort of soup kitchen for local homeless run by an altruistic New Disciple named Enoch. The water fountain within the mall was reactivated after the arrival of the Judge and also acts as a local source for fresh water. Instead of being led by an Apostle, mall is led by a mayor named Perseus Lindsey who was elected by the traders. The traders are allowed to elect their leaders because they pay “tribute” to important members of the Kingdom. Davidville Davidville, known before the war as Richland, is the central community of New Jerusalem where much of the administration and new infrastructure of the city is located. The Judge and his wife live there as well as many of the Kingdom's top brass. This top brass includes numerous New Disciples, Apostles, and veterans of the Army of God. Traders are not allowed to live in Davidville but do conduct trade there though not on the levels at the mall. The community is walled to provide protection from the outside and also to separate Davidville from the rest of New Jerusalem. Maria and the Hands of David do a lot to administrate Davidville while Judge David mostly just lounges around when he is not campaigning. Davidville is the most "ideal" community within New Jerusalem, with the close attention of Judge David and Maria making sure that the community remains as close to their vision of the Kingdom as possible. Any sort of black market or criminal element in Davidville is viciously prosecuted by the Hands of David, who are much more "hands-on" in their enforcement there than in other communities at the urging of Maria. Hanford Garrison The Hanford Garrison is an outpost of the Army of God in Hanford Town that was initially created to put the boot down on the local mutants. Held by the Apostle Zephaniah, the Hanford Garrison makes the Kingdom’s presence known in the slums and ramshackle neighborhoods of Hanford Town. The garrison was built off of the ruins of pre-War local U.S. Department of Energy headquarters. The soldiers of the Army of God live within the building, and the Apostle keeps to himself in the offices of the building. The garrison contains a mess hall, residential quarters, an armory, and a working generator room. The garrison in Hanford do very little work beyond occasionally defending the settlements from interlopers from the wasteland. The apostle's understanding with local shady elements mean the garrison do little to interfere with local affairs. The Hanford Site A relic of the old world, the Hanford Site is an old nuclear production complex once operated by the United States federal government northeast of the rest of New Jerusalem. As a valuable military asset, the facility was heavily bombed during the Great War and the radioactive material waste was exposed to the world. Due to the efforts of the facility staff however, the radioactive contamination was limited to around the facility’s ruins instead of covering the Tri-cities. After the war, the Hanford Site became a haunt for feral ghouls who loved the area’s high radiation. Eventually, civilized ghouls also took up residence in the Hanford Site and effectively evicted the feral ghouls into the rest of the ruins. The ghouls resided in the ruins of the Hanford Site until the arrival of the Judge, who brought many of them back into the light of civilization alongside “normies”. Currently, the Hanford Site stands empty except for a couple of reserved ghouls who respect the authority of the Judge but prefer to live by themselves. The ruins of the site are a mess of twisted metal and concrete that imply a complex pre-War architecture that has been long forgotten. Below the ruins and sometimes bubbling up to the surface is a seemingly endless supply of radioactive waste that was created during the Cole War. The site’s radioactivity means most people avoid it besides the most determined scavengers and the occasional Hand of David looking to mete out justice. An important member of the small ghoul community in the Hanford Site is Walter McGillin, a pre-War U.S. soldier who acts as smuggler and mercenary for the black market within the Kingdom. Hanford Town Hanford Town is a community that is built upon the ruins of Richland that is mostly made up of mutants and ex-scavengers. The community was established by the Judge after he took the Tri-Cities when he settled some scavengers and brought many ghouls out of the Hanford Site to the city. Judge David let the Apostle Judah govern Hanford Town initially. The Apostle Judah created a sprawling shantytown and took a very hands-off attitude towards the community’s growth. Judah’s came to an abrupt end when David executed him and uplifted the Apostle Zephaniah in his place. Since then, the Apostle Zephaniah has kept a tight grip on power through a complex network of thugs and bribery. Hanford Town is the poorest of the communities in New Jerusalem, but there is a sense of unity within the area that is not present among any of the others. The Apostle Zephaniah, ruling from the Hanford Garrison, protects his community quite effectively from itself and outsiders, and his people love him for it. His expert control of the criminal undercurrent, both man and mutant, has ensured his comfortable place in Hanford Town for years to come. Kennewick Kennewick is a community that was built on top of the pre-War remains of the city that is mostly inhabited by traders and former scavengers. The community was originally a hub for scavver clans from across the ruins of the Tri-Cities, where most of them lived. It was there that Judge David came down hardest in his conquest of the Tri-Cities, and the people of the area remember the Judge's actions still with venom in their eyes. Most in the community work at a local industrial plant that manufactures ammunition while a few stubborn few remain scavengers. The Apostle Lucius is in charge of Kennewick, and he is a brutal tyrant towards the residents, extorting and abusing them as he wishes. Luckily for the people of Kennewick, the Apostle prefers to hunt rebels most of the time instead of hunting them. The Mode of Punishment The so-called Mode of Punishment is a pre-War industrial crane that serves as a place of public execution for many of those sentenced to death in the Kingdom of God. The crane is rarely bare, and the Kingdom’s executioner has a busy job cutting down dead bodies to prepare for new ones. The "Mop" is remarkably good condition for its age and frequent usage and will no doubt be servicing New Jerusalem's executions for years to come. New Jerusalem Church of the New Disciples Although the New Disciples have smaller churches throughout New Jerusalem in Kennewick and Hanford Town, New Jerusalem Church of the New Disciples in Davidville is only one with the honor of taking the city's name as its own. The church is one that was restored from its ruined pre-War state to a better condition. Judge David offered the buidling to serve as Bishop Marcellus's ministry, but the bishop saw this as a farce. Marcellus told David that he should give it to another New Disciple pastor, and that is what the Judge did. Since 2270, Pastor Shane Gleeson has been the head of New Jerusalem Church of the New Disciples, and he has done quite well for himself. The Third Temple of God The Third Temple of Washington is the home and the personal house of God for Judge David while also symbolizing the coming new Messianic age. The temple has been a work in progress for decades now, but there is enough construction done that the Judge and many of his men have moved in already. The building is modeled after the Biblical Solomon's Temple according to descriptions given in the Bible and the advise given by a certain Simon Adler. The temple functions both as a palace and a religious center for the Kingdom of God. It is constantly under guard by members of the Army of God, with the addition of the nearby Temple Garrison. The Judge and Maria have also taken up a habit of collecting religious relics and pre-War artifacts in the Third Temple of God. Some of these artifacts include several LMLK stamped jars, coins from the Holy Land, and hundreds of Bibles. Temple Garrison The Temple Garrison is the outpost of the Army of God closest to the Third Temple in Davidville. The building was named after the nearby Temple serves and serves as a recruiting station for the populace of New Jerusalem. A former convention center, the Temple Garrison has been fortified and well-stocked with plenty of weapons. The soldiers within the Army of God are well looked after and are given the best supplies. However, they are also expected to serve the Judge directly in war if given the opportunity. The garrison hopes that day does not come soon. Notable Individuals Clementina Clementina is a wife of a trader and a member of New Jerusalem’s thriving black market. Brought in from the outside by her husband, Clementina was forced to adapt to her surroundings while also trying to maintain her own status as a trader in secret. She sells plenty of products to men and women at the Columbia Center Mall, but she is cautious in her business. Clementina knows the punishment for a woman running a business like her's and she plays her cards close to the chest. Still, she much prefers the danger to being out of game altogether, as that would just make her life awfully boring. Judge David Judge David is the harsh autocratic ruler of the Kingdom of God who casts himself as the arbiter of God on Earth. Raised by raiders and converted by his wife Maria, a member of the New Disciples, David retains many of the sensibilities he held as a raider while carrying out “God’s will” with a fundamentalist’s vigor. Judge David is a man of extreme personas, the public and the private. He is the instrument of God's will in public while being a bit of a lazy bore in private life. His wife Maria would prefer most people knew about David's spiritual side and not the part that marks him as a former raider. Lorenzo Lorenzo is the young leader of the Hands of David who takes his job quite seriously despite the corruption of his peers. Born into the Kingdom, Lorenzo was brought up to respect authority and the Kingdom’s hierarchy. He is a diligent member of the Kingdom who reads the Bible and follows God’s laws, as he sees it at least. He is very prideful of his position and resents many of the Apostles for their high rank in Godly organization that contrasts with their low moral fiber. Lorenzo trusts in the Judge's judgement for now, but as time goes on, he continues asking more questions about the Kingdom and himself. The Apostle Lucius The Apostle Lucius is one of the Apostles of Judge David, a thoroughbred raider, and the ruler of the community of Kennewick within New Jerusalem. He has been with David since Spokane, and he is happy with his power as long as he is allowed to abuse it. Lucius loves firepower and has little respect for authority, only begrudgingly respecting the Judge’s higher power. He is little more than a common thug who got lucky from knowing the right people. Lucius also fears the Judge’s “supernatural” powers to a degree, as he has always been very superstitious with the Kingdom's apocalyptic rhetoric only worsening his outlook on the world. Maria Maria is the zealous wife of Judge David, a prominent figure within the Kingdom, and an ardent female misogynist. Raised among the New Disciples in Nicaea, Maria was captured by David when he was still a raider, and she worked to convert him, eventually marrying him. Maria's love of David, her religious zealotry, and her misogyny are results of a rather unique childhood, one she would rather forget but never can fully put behind her. Maria’s role in the Kingdom of God’s creation was pivotal, and she even helped design the Kingdom’s flag. Seth Bartley Seth Bartley is a former ghoul scavenger who initially converted to the Kingdom’s faith with fervor but has since become disillusioned. Seth was pre-War child who grew up in the shadow of the bombs and later became a ghoul due to unfortunate circumstances. The Hanford Site was Seth's home until the arrival of the Judge when he moved to Hanford Town. Now, Seth is a caravan guard for local traders who has lost the optimism that the Kingdom’s brand of Christianity once brought him. Simon Adler Simon Adler is an adviser to Judge David and major component of the project to build the Third Temple. A Messianic Jew originally from New Jersey, Simon embarked on a journey with his family to the Kingdom after hearing stories of it from a trader as he wanted to escape the derision of his peers to a place where Christianity was celebrated instead of persecuted. He has been happy with his choice so, serving as a leader for the Kindom’s small Jewish community and a close adviser to the Judge on matters both religious and temporal. An educated man, Simon has nonetheless swallowed the Kingdom’s rhetoric hook, line, and sinker, and he sees Judge David as a messiah in the vein of King Cyrus the Great of Persia. Tryphosa Black Tryphosa Black is the wife of the Kingdom’s executioner Elishah who has a muted yet dangerous attitude towards life. Tryphosa is a deeply disturbed individual who occasionally poisons people for fun. She rationalizes this as getting back at those who enslaved her, and she keeps a low head generally to both avoid violence and suspicion. Life in Davidville where she lives is relatively comfortable, but that never satisfied Tryphosa. She wanted a life beyond New Jerusalem, and poisoning is her way of taking out her frustrations. At least, that is what she says. The Apostle Zephaniah The Apostle Zephaniah is one of the Apostles of Judge David who runs a tight operation in the community of Hanford Town, earning the love of men and mutants through a careful system of patronage and bribery. He genuinely cares for the people under his rule but is willing to allow some corruption to make a cap or two. This includes a large amount of black market goods circulating around Hanford Town and the presence of a sort of mutant mafia that runs a protection racket in the poorer parts of the community. The Apostle Zephaniah asserts control over both underworld elements by getting his cut and making sure the operations do not go out of control. Some in Hanford Town ask the apostle why he doesn't just ask the Judge to legalize his activities as as a form of regulation, and he just shakes his head, saying it wouldn't be good business. After all, who can do business when your neck is dangling from a rope? Quotes By About Category:Places Category:Communities Category:Cascadia